The New Orleans Saints are heading into another season with questions hanging over them, but one former Broncos standout doesn’t sound convinced they’re ready to take the NFC South.
Mark Schlereth, the three-time Super Bowl champion and former Denver Broncos guard, was asked by a fan whether the Saints had better than a 55% chance to win the division in 2026. His answer was short and blunt:
"Slightly under."
That verdict lands at a time when the Saints are still trying to climb out of a long slump. New Orleans missed the postseason for the fifth straight year after finishing 6-11 in Kellen Moore’s first season as head coach in 2025. The drought looks even stranger when stacked against the stretch that came before it: the Saints won the NFC South four years in a row from 2017 through 2020, then slid into back-to-back fourth-place finishes over the last two seasons.
There is still some belief that New Orleans can push the reigning division champions, the Carolina Panthers, for the top spot next season. But ESPN’s recent outlook didn’t exactly pour fuel on that optimism. Earlier this month, Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder ranked the Saints’ starting lineup 26th, and they pointed to cornerback as the weakest spot on the roster.
Even with the team’s uneven year, quarterback Tyler Shough gave the Saints something to build on. He was the lone bright spot in 2025, throwing for 2,384 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions while finishing second in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year votings.
Former Saints quarterback Derek Carr said Shough’s rookie season stood out because of how ready he looked from the start.
“Shough came in and he was already just so mature,” Carr said. “Obviously, he was a little older than the guys coming in.
He’s been through life. He’s had some adversity that he’s gone through.
You can tell, man, he came in and was ready to ball. Just such a good, humble guy.”
Carr also said he expects a "confident" Shough to keep moving forward with Kellen Moore handling the play-calling.
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